Memories

I believe in memories. I can remember all the times of my grandpa and I playing the stupid game of hide and go seek. Hiding in the closet, under the table, and behind the couch, “screaming you cant find me“. This was me pretending to have fun. But today I sit here and think about that stupid game, and how I wish my grandpa were here to play it with me.

As we drove up the drive way to my grandpas’ summer house, I grew more and more excited to see him. When the car stopped I jumped out and ran to the garage where my grandpa always sat and enjoyed the summer heat. The day started off by cooking out on the grill and eating all kinds of food. Hotdogs, grilled chicken, hamburgers, and brats, which I hated were just a few of the things that he cooked. After we all ate, we would head inside so that my siblings and I could play with the new toys that my grandpa always had waiting on us to open. My mom and grandpa would talk and catch up on the time that he had spent back home in Florida. I could always tell how happy every one was when they were around him, he just had that quality, to make every one feel good. At that time I was about eleven years old, all my brothers and sisters were younger than me, so my grandpa would always play silly games like hide and go seek with us. He thought that we all loved playing that game with him but not all of us did. The younger ones did but, I secretly hated it. I did this because I knew that my grandpa cherished the time that he spent with us and thought that we were having a blast. We would all go hide and my grandpa would count to fifty. I always picked the same hiding places because I knew that he would find me first. I knew I wouldn’t have to play any more. Then he would find the other four kids and pick one of us to go count. This always lasted for about thirty minutes, and then we would say our goodbyes.

Today I sit here thinking of all the summers, I spent at that house with my family and how as a little kid I didn’t enjoys some of the things we played, like hide and go seek. But if I could have my grandpa back for just one day we would play that silly game until I couldn’t play any more. I am so thankful for the memories that I have of playing the childish game of hide and go seek. Through this I’ve learned that even if you don’t like doing something, you will always remember and cherish the time spent with your family.

Shop on Amazon and support This I Believe

We receive up to 10% of every purchase you make on Amazon through this link. So do all your holiday shopping here and help support This I Believe!

Top 100 Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.